February 08, 2010

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In a heavy dose of pre-summit positioning, the top two Republicans in the House delivered a list of pointed political and policy questions to the White House on Monday that they'd like answered before the bipartisan health care summit at the end of this month:

- "Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward on health care in a bipartisan way, does that mean he will agree to start over so that we can develop a bill that is truly worthy of the support and confidence of the American people? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today that the President is “absolutely not” resetting the legislative process for health care. If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate.

- "Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward in a bipartisan way, does that mean he has taken off the table the idea of relying solely on Democratic votes and jamming through health care reform by way of reconciliation? As the President has noted recently, Democrats continue to hold large majorities in the House and Senate, which means they can attempt to pass a health care bill at any time through the reconciliation process. Eliminating the possibility of reconciliation would represent an important show of good faith to Republicans and the American people.

- "If the President intends to present any kind of legislative proposal at this discussion, will he make it available to members of Congress and the American people at least 72 hours beforehand? Our ability to move forward in a bipartisan way through this discussion rests on openness and transparency.

- "Will the President include in this discussion congressional Democrats who have opposed the House and Senate health care bills? This bipartisan discussion should reflect the bipartisan opposition to both the House bill and the kickbacks and sweetheart deals in the Senate bill.

- "Will the President be inviting officials and lawmakers from the states to participate in this discussion? As you may know, legislation has been introduced in at least 36 state legislatures, similar to the proposal just passed by the Democratic-controlled Virginia State Senate, providing that no individual may be compelled to purchase health insurance. Additionally, governors of both parties have raised concerns about the additional costs that will be passed along to states under both the House and Senate bills.

- "The President has also mentioned his commitment to have “experts” participate in health care discussions. Will the Feb. 25 discussion involve such "experts?" Will those experts include the actuaries at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), who have determined that the both the House and Senate health care bill raise costs – just the opposite of their intended effect – and jeopardize seniors’ access to high-quality care by imposing massive Medicare cuts? Will those experts include the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which has stated that the GOP alternative would reduce premiums by up to 10 percent? Also, will Republicans be permitted to invite health care experts to participate?

- "Finally, as you know, this is the first televised White House health care meeting involving the President since last March. Many health care meetings of the closed-door variety have been held at the White House since then, including one where a sweetheart deal was worked out with union leaders. Will the special interest groups that the Obama Administration has cut deals with be included in this televised discussion?Of course, Americans have been dismayed by the fact that the President has broken his own pledge to hold televised health care talks. We can only hope this televised discussion is the beginning, not the end, of attempting to correct that mistake. Will the President require that any and all future health care discussions, including those held on Capitol Hill, meet this common-sense standard of transparency and openness?

This list - coupled with some pointed remarks by the Republican rank and file Monday - don't bode well for bipartisan cooperation. Boehner and Cantor also remind Obama that they first invited him to hold a bipartisan health care discussion back in May - an invitation the president rejected.

"Since then, the President has given dozens of speeches on health care reform, operating under the premise that the more the American people learn about his plan, the more they will come to like it," Boehner and Cantor said in the letter. "Just the opposite has occurred: a majority of Americans oppose the House and Senate health care bills and want them scrapped so we can start over with a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs for families and small businesses. Just as important, scrapping the House and Senate health care bills would help end the uncertainty they are creating for workers and businesses and thus strengthen our shared commitment to focusing on creating jobs."

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First question should be: I thought jobs were going to be # 1 on the agenda? Obviously the Progressives aren't going to let Obamacare and all that government control elude them. Second question: Are we going to throw out the present bills? If the answer is no, then there is no need to go on. Third question: Do you want the insurance companies or the government to be in control when changes are made? If they want government ( even in their sneaky forms ) run HCR, then just get up and walk away.

For the last 2 years he's been telling us that Republicans were racist teabagging aholes who killed and ate their own children.. now he wants their plan? How about we take his word for it, and ask him why he'd want a plan from such a hateful group of teabaggers? Right? Riiiiiiight!? BTW, he needed a teleprompter to talk to 6th graders? BHAHAHAHHAHA

These tyrants in the WH just don't get it. Just tell 0zer0 "We won", just like 0zer0 told the Repubs "I won" a year ago when he first talked to them to sell his version of "bi-partisianship" which is what 0zer0 calls "my way or the highway". All 0zer0 wants is political cover for his failures. Tell 0zer0, "Kill these bills and start over with true bi-partisianship or we won't discuss any healthcare reform".Time to play hardball. The dumbcrats were stupid enough to pass these bills, now they own them. They need to choke on them.
The people have spoken. They have said in Virgina, New Jersey and Massachusetts - Enough of the spending, taxes, backroom deals for unions and lobbyists, deficits, bailouts, lies, race baiting, surrender against terrorists, pandering to environmental zealots. No longer will we listen to the Fascist Narcissist Petulant Man-Child Dear Leader Reader Bolshevik Ideologue 0zer0 and his minions of brownshirts led by Reid and Pelosi.
Lady Liberty is smiling again because real Americans - the ones that dumbcrats and libturds call Teabaggers, Wingnuts, Nazi's, Knuckledraggers, Mouth Breathers, and clingers to guns and religion are rising up and are taking their country back from radical marxist czar wanna-be's.
Just keep doing what you have been doing dumbcrats. The Tea Party Express is coming for you! We will not be stopped!
0zer0care = Socialized Soylent Green Healthcare
0bamanomics = Economics + Moronics
0zer0doctrine = Neville Chamberlain meets Jimmy Carter!

The ANSWER that needs to be given at this shin dig is to remove the ban on interstate commerce for Health Insurance to:
1 - Lower Costs (even for Medicare/Medicaid)
2 - Improve Care through Competition
3 - CREATE JOBS!!!
4 - Not require unconstitutional mandatory health insurance
5 - $50 per month gets $25,000 in Collision Coverage without those 16 and under, over 65, and all the other millions who don't drive being forced to pay for car insurance.

This is political theater and grandstanding by Obama....his chat with Senate democrats last week is proof that he patronizes any republican ideas as "unworkable"...
While this set of questions certainly demand answers, I still think it would be best to force democrats to pass this monstrosity on their own, and then work like hell to recapture House and/or Senate to undo what's been done, before too much damage has occurred.
Trying to reduce costs is a boondoggle unless they fix Medicare and Medicaid first. Take a look at Paul Ryan's RoadMap for hints at what WILL WORK, according to the CBO:
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10851/01-27-Ryan-Roadmap-Letter.pdf

You folks sure get worked up. You can grab a beer and relax as health care reform is done. It really is. I know that health expenditures are 17% of GDP and climbing and we pay more per capita for health care than the rest of the western world. That's OK, we are getting our moneys worth.

I tell him to take his invitation and shove it. The American people have overwhelmingly rejected his idea of health reform and his agenda as a whole for that matter. This invite is nothing more that a scripted setup designed to have the President smack down all Republican ideas by claiming they won't work when he has absolutely no proof of such. That way he can claim he kept his campaign promise and that the Republicans are interested in working with him. His idea of bipartisanship is you caving in and agreeing with him. Thats not how it works and the people understand that!
I hope they stick to their guns. Theres absolutely no reason to throw Obama a life jacket when he is clearly drowning. String it out until November and let the Amercan people deliver the final blow to his progressive agenda!

I can't answer Mike's question but I do know that Chuck Grassley top 5 industry groups that contributed to his campaign from 2005 to 2010 in order are health professionals, insurance, pharmaceuticals, lobbyists and hospitals. No wonder he didn't want to pull the plug on granny. Perhaps instead of bickering over the dead horse of health care reform, we should be exploring who is making these campaign contributions because that's where all issues are decided. We delude ourselves if we think Republicans and Democrats are at each other's throats over the issues. They work for the campaign contributions and not for the people. You teabaggers, sorry but you weren't invited to the grab bag of graft.

How about a 1 month vacation from Barry? We see his intolerable mug on TV WAAAAYYYY too much people. Sometimes I swear I'm 5 minutes away from a straightjacket when this idiot comes on and claims he's created 3 million jobs while in reality he's lost over 4 million since he was elected. Our leader is a sociopathic liar and as a service to all those who have lost jobs in his name, he should HIDE HIS SICK, SICK, SELF AWAY.

Will the Health care industries tell uis all how much they are paying the republicans to oppose this bill???
Good god, another moron!!!! UUUmmmm, the insurance companies got millions of new enrollees forced into buying policies by big brother, and gave up NOTHING. Martha Coakly was on her way to an isurance industry fund raisier when she had the reporter pushing incidentt. Can't you people see beyoond the nose on your face?

Posted By: Will the Health care industries tell uis all how much they are paying the republicans to oppose this | February 08, 2010 at 08:24 PM

Insurance Industry is the major contributor to destroying the Health of the Nation Economy and job loses...period...emptying the pockets of all its citizens who are the labors and consumers of the Nation...........Insurance Industry by their rising outrageous premiums coming with no guarantees , leaving nil purchasing power (money in the pockets of all its citizens) to be spent else where ..on manufacturing goods and products...which in turn forces manufacturing loss product sales, in turn having to give lay offs, total job losses, labor wage cuts, even forced to close shop or move over seas. Not to mention...loss of tax revenues.......why china choose to cut its profit margins on their manufacturing products to stay competitive and is now the fastest growing WORLD LEADER in Manufacturing goods and WORLD Leader in manufacturing product EXPORTS....Insurance Industry is greed self interest

Posted By: Insurance Industry is the major contributor to destroying the Health of the Nation Economy and job l | February 08, 2010 at 08:36 PM

Hey moron, you are aware that 'Marcia' Croakly is a Democrat, yes? Republicans haven't taken any money from anyone. It was 'dirty' Mary and the Nebraskan Nimrod (both democrats) who took a total of 600 million in bribe money. They should be tried for treason for that. Don't believe the demorat talking points about the republicans stopping this... THE DEMOCRATS HAD A SUPERMAJORITY!! they could pass ANYTHING without a single Republican vote!! Stop blaming the republicans!!! The D's could have passed a law forcing R's into a euthenasia machine if they wanted! IDIOT SHEEPLE

Bob Puller, I do have to disagree with your one comment that the Republicans didn't take any money. Chuck Grassley's take was quite remarkable. Although in comparison Michelle Bachman's total take isn't as generous the insurance lobby was her #2 overall campaign contributor. Bob don't kid yourself. It's all about the money for both sides. On the Democratic side, Max Baucus and Evan Bayh have done quite well from the health insurance industry as well. In Bayh's case, it was his wife's personal take from being on the Board at Wellpointe so she was bring the bacon home and not to Evan's campaign. Seems like a sweet deal to me.

Bob Puller, I do have to disagree with your one comment that the Republicans didn't take any money. Chuck Grassley's take was quite remarkable. Although in comparison Michelle Bachman's total take isn't as generous the insurance lobby was her #2 overall campaign contributor. Bob don't kid yourself. It's all about the money for both sides. On the Democratic side, Max Baucus and Evan Bayh have done quite well from the health insurance industry as well. In Bayh's case, it was his wife's personal take from being on the Board at Wellpointe so she was bring the bacon home and not to Evan's campaign. Seems like a sweet deal to me.

I'm sorry Bob. I didn't know Coakley was a Democrat. I've been lied to by the treasonous Democrat party and am ashamed to admit that they got me to post propaganda here for a mere promise of a free dirty sanchez. I am forever ashamed for the disgrace I've brought to my family. Thankyou again, Bob Puller

Posted By: Insurance Industry is the major contributor to destroying the Health of the Nation Economy and job l | February 08, 2010 at 08:58 PM

Bob Puller, ever hear of business cycles? When the country goes into the worst recession since the depression, how soon do you really expect it to recover??? Now I am not going to bash Bush because he was the victim of the business cycle as well as some poor legislation that was passed into law 10 years ago. Glass-Steagall is gone.

Comments here are far from civil, not objective and will lead us into being a has- been country locked in a political fable. The only free I see here is the freedom to turn the middle class into the cannibal class.

Republicans wont show up for a televised debate on health care because they know that they only TALK about having ideas rather than actually having them,and that they were made to look stupid in the last Republican/President debate. Where is the nation health plan the Republicans passed from 2000 to 2004 when they had the White House and majorities in the Senate and the House, with the ideas they had? They didn't pass a national health plan because they had no ideas for it. What they did pass were tax cuts for their rich buddies instead. Republicans only favor big business, Wall Street and the rich, and the average American means nothing to them. Just look at the Republican party`s budget that would put senors`Social Security and Medicare into the Wall Street casino, to be gambled away to nothing. We seniors should vote en block against Republicans for wanting to gamble our benefits away.

Hear is the question that Dr. Dean could not answer... Why can't you start with the cost savings measure called Medical Tort Reform...Or are you unwilling to take on the likes the almighty Trial Lawyer. Next, why can't lower population states like Montana, North and South Dakota, and Idaho enjoy economies of scale and pool their healthcare needs and buy health insurance across state lines? Why cant the uninsured fill a single HHS Government form stating they are without insurance, pay a deductable comensurated with the level of health care, ie $20 for outpatient care, $50 urgent care, $100 emergency care, and $500 hospitalization. $15 copay on all drugs. Deduct 2% of each paycheck that will go into a medical deductable fund. Send the bill to HHS and let them remit the final payment. For some reason the United States practices STUPID GOVERNMENT and cannot pass gas without conflict. THe KISS principal ALWAYS WORKS BEST!

republicans, GOP are not for middle class working hard last 8 years building their rich vs poor ........... Bush administration out sourced the administration of Medicare to provide for profit insurance companies and want to do the same with social security also. Who fleece the taxpayers for profits....................... This is what accounts for ballooning cost of medicare. Republicans GOP know that Pres Obama is not naive...............................Republicans, GOP had a free socialism ride for 8 years.... Pres Obama is...Instead, and in knowing, it is time to wean the wealthy off the tax payers

Posted By: republicans, GOP are not for middle class working hard last 8 years building their rich vs poor ... | February 09, 2010 at 08:07 AM

Will the congressional repubs bargain to give our health away to the insurance giants at the expense of our people and real economy, sponsor the bill and then, every last one of them, vote against the bill in order to sabotage the elected president of the United States because they can't stand the color of his skin?